Folding training chair



1962 A. G. VAN sYoc, SR, ETAL 3,047,883

FOLDING TRAINING CHAIR Filed Feb. 25, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l TORS ? MERL M. ALMV i" THOMAS K. smow.

ATTORNEY5 N xii/Bum! 6. mm 5 5 2 s2.

Aug. 7, 1962 A. e. VAN SYOC, sR., ETAL 3,047,833

FOLDING TRAINING CHAIR Filed Feb. 25, 1960 2 SheetsSheet 2 IgVENTORS AUBURN 6. VAN V06 91?. MER/. M. ALMI THOMAS K SVDOM 56.8 BY M A'ITORNEYS United States Patent Gfitiee i assists Patented Aug. 7, 1962 This invention relates to a childs training chair, and more particularly to a folding training chair suitable for easy transportation in an automobile or the like.

Collapsible training chairs have been known for some time, and they have found extensive use in connection with automobile travel. However, collapsible training chairs known so far were either cumbersome or else unsafe in that an inquisitive child was able to release the collapsing mechanism and injure itself, or at least work the mechanism to such an extent as to get its fingers caught and sustain injury thereby. Another disadvantage of previously known collapsible training chairs was the fact that the receptacle was either too shallow to be fully effective, or else it had to be withdrawn and carried separately when the chair was folded.

The present invention overcomes these difficulties by providing a folding training chair which unfolds into a completely rigid, firm structure which cannot be coilapsed or even rattled by the child while the child is sitting in the chair. In device of this invention, this result is achieved by novel latch means which hold the back and side panels of the chair in tightly wedged rigid relationship to each other when the back is fully erected. The lock is so arranged that the wedging mechanism is inaccessible to the childs hands so that the child cannot pinch his fingers therein. The lock is further so arranged that the side panels of the chair cannot be swung out of their fully erected position unless the back is completely folded against the seat, a condition which is impossible to attain as long as the child is sitting in the chair. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a collapsible plastic receptacle is provided which is automatically compressed into a flat shape when the chair is collapsed and which can be easily expanded into areceptacle of standard depth when the chair is erected.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a training chair which is completely collapsible yet is sturdy and completely rigid when erected.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a collapsible training chair which is safe against improper manipulation by a child sitting therein.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a collapsible training chair having a sanitary collapsible receptacle.

These and other advantages of this invention will be apparent from a perusal of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of the chair in its opened or erected position, with the partly folded position of the back shown in phantom lines.

FIG.'2 is a perspective view of the chair with the back folded but the sides erected, a partly folded position of the right side panel being shown in phantom lines.

FIG. 3 is a perspecitve view of the chair in its completely folded position, the receptacle being indicated in phantom lines;

FIG. 4 is a detail perspective of the lock in its locked position;

FIG. 5 is a detail side elevation of the lock in the locked position;

FIG. 6 is a detail plan view, partly in section, of the lock in the locked position;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the lock in an intermediate position;

FIG. 8 is a View similar to FIG. 6 but showing the lock in its unlocked position;

FIG. 9 is a rear elevation of the chair in its erected position;

FIG. 10 is a detail rear elevation, partly cut away,

showing the receptacle;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the receptacle.

Basically, the chair of this invention consist of a seat to which are hinged a pair of side panels and a back. The side panels serve both as arm rests and as legs. The side panels are not hinged directly to the seat, but are attached to the seat by means of hinge arms which are pivoted both on the side panels and on pivot brackets attached to the seat. This arrangement permits spacing of the side panels from the underside of the seat when the side panels are in their folded position, the spacing being variable so that either side panel may be positioned closest to the underside of the seat and the other side panel may be positioned immediately outwardly thereof. Furthermore, the provision of these hinge arms has the effect of creating an over-center arrangement which tends to push the side panels into their fully erected position when weight is applied to the seat while the chair is erected, yet tends to push the side panels into their most collapsed position immediately adjacent the seat when weight is applied to the seat while the chair is collapsed. The interlocking of the back and the side panels to obtain a rigid unitary structure when the chair is erected is achieved by a T- shaped finger mounted on the back and riding in a slot formed in the side panels. The slot in the side panels has wedge-shaped flanges formed thereon which cause the back and the side panels to be drawn into tight engagement with one another as the back is pulled into its fully erected position. Further, the wedged shaped flanges taper slightly to produce an over-center cam look at the fully erected position to provide an additional locking feature. The slot in the side panels is provided with an eye at its extreme lower end, so that the back can be disengaged from the side panels only when the back is completely folded against the seat.

The receptacle, according to this invention, is made of a soft yet sturdy plastic which can readily be compressed into a flat shape when the chair is collapsed, yet equally readily expanded into a full sized bowl shape when the chair is erected. A metallic hoop is provided around the perimeter of the receptacle for supporting purposes. The hoop is fully encased in the plastic material of the receptacle for sanitary reasons and is provided with a handle portion which permits the easy insertion and withdrawal of the receptacle into and out of the supporting brackets.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, it will be readily seen that the chair 20 is composed of a seat 22, side panels 24 and 26, and a back 28. Hinge. arms 30, 32 are pivotally mounted both with respect to the side panels 24, 2.6 and with respect to the arm supporting brackets 34, 36 by seat pivots 40, 42 and.

panel pivots 68, 44. Corresponding hinge arms 30a, 32a,

brackets 34a, 36a, and pivots 38a, 49a, 42a, and 44a are provided on the rear of seat 22 (FIG. 9). The side panels 24, 26 are each provided respectively with slots 46, 47 terminating in eyes 4-8, 49 at the lower ends thereof. As appears more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 68, wedge-shaped flanges 50 extend outwardly along the edges of slot 46. T-shaped locking fingers 52, 53 (FIGS. 3 and -8) attached to the back 28 can be inserted through the eye 43, 49 of slots 46, 47 when the chair is being erected. It will be apparent from an inspection of FIGS. 1 and 2 that the insertion of locking fingers 52, 53 in eyes 43, 49 can take place only while the back 28 is in its totally col-- lapsed or horizontal position. When the seat 28 is raised following insertion of the locking fingers 52, 53 in eyes 48, 49, the narrow arm portion 54 of locking fingers 52, 53 will protrude through the slots 46, 47 while the wider outer portion 55 of locking fingers 52, 53 rides against the flanges 50 and is precluded by them from being withdrawn from the slots 46, 47. Since the flanges 56 are wedge-shaped, the portion 55 of locking fingers 52, 53 is spaced from flanges St} at the beginning of the erecting movement of back 23, (FIG. 8), but this spacing becomes less and less as the back is being erected (FIG. 7) until, when the seat is fully erected, the wide end of flanges 5t? engages portion 55 of the fingers 52, 53 and pulls them outwardly to such an extent that the mounting brackets 56, 57 attached to back 28 are pulled into tight engagement with side panels 24, 26 (FIG. 6). In this position, the wedging action of the flange 50 introduces sufiicient friction that the back cannotbe pulled out of its fully erected position by a small child, but only by the strength of an adult. In addition, the extremity of the wide end of flanges 50' may be relieved as at 59 to provide an over-center locking action so as to further hold the back 28 in its fully erected position.

Referring now to FIGS. 9, and 11, it will be seen particularly in FIG. 10 that the underside of the seat 22 is provided with receptacle supports 58 which in effect are tracks adapted to guide and support the supporting hoop 60 of a receptacle 62. A handle 64 is provided in the supporting hoop 60 so that the receptacle can be pulled out of and pushed into position under the opening 66 formed in seat 227 In accordance with the present invention, the receptacle 62 is formed of a soft pliable plastic material such as vinyl or polyethylene, or any other low-durometer, flexible material which is watertight, non-hygroscopic, and resistant to discoloration and odors. For sanitary reason, the supporting hoop may be entirely encased in plastic so as to make the receptacle readily washable and to prevent corrosion of the supporting hoop by organic acids or other substances with which it is likely to come into contact during use.

Operati n The chair 20 is normally transported in the condition shown in FIG. 3. This is the folded or collapsed position. If it is now desired to erect the chair for use, the chair is grasped by its seat 22, and side panel 24 is pulled downwardly and then to the right in FIG. 3 until the hinge arm 30 has been swung around in a counterclockwise direction about seat pivot 40 to the position shown in FIG. 1. The side panel 24 is then pivoted counterclockwise about the panel pivot 38 until it is completely vertical and the eye 49 formed therein has engaged locking finger 53 on back 28. The other side panel 26 is then pulled downwardly into the position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 2, and then to the left in FIG. 3 until hinge arm 32- rotates in a clockwise direction into the position in which it is shown in FIG. 1. Panel 26 is then pivoted clockwise about panel pivot 44 until it assumes a vertical position and its eye 48 ha engaged locking finger 52 on the back 28. The chair is now in the condition shown in FIG. 2. Next, the back 28 is raised out of its horizontal position and swung about the back hinge 68 (FIG. 1) until it assumes a vertical position as shown in FIG. 1. In this position, the flanges 50 are firmly wedged between the locking fingers 52, S3 and the mounting brackets 56, 57 so that the back 23 and the side panels 24 and 26 form an integral rigid entity. At this point, a child may be seated in the chair and strapped thereto by means of strap 70. It will be noted that the seat is supported by the hinge arms 3t} and 32 inwardly of its side edges, so that any weight placed on seat 22 tends to keep hinge arms 30 and 32 in their erected position and to bias them against collapsing movement,

Following completion of the use of the chair, the re ceptacle 62 may be withdrawn rearwardly by using handle 64 to pull the supporting hoop 6th out of the receptacle supports 58. The receptacle is then washed and reinserted in the receptacle supports 58, and the chair can now be collapsed by reversing the steps described in the erection thereof (as indicated by the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2). As the chair is collapsed into the position shown in FIG. 3, pressure is applied to the top of the seat 22, and panels 24 and 26 will thereupon fold snugly against the bottom of seat 22, as will be evident from an inspection of FIG. 3. At the same time, the receptacle 62. is compressed into a flat shape so as not to interfere with the movement of panels 24 and 26.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a safe, sturdy and inexpensive training chair which is particularly adapted to the efficient and sanitary training of children under travel conditions. Although one embodiment of this invention has been described herein, it will be understood that this embodiment is illustrative only and that the spirit of the invention can be carried out in many diiferent forms. Therefore, this invention is not to be deemed limited by the embodiment described herein, but only by the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A collapsible chair having a seat, a back, and a pair of side panels, said back and said side panels being hinged to said seat for folding movement between erected and storage positions, said side panels each having a forwardly and rearwardly arcuate slot formed extending therein, said slots each having an enlarged eye at the forward end thereof, and wedge-shaped flange means on said panels extending lengthwise of said slots; locking fingers on said back each having'a head portion wider than said slots, and head portions being insertable through said eyes and cooperating with said flange means to draw said back and said side panels together as said back panel is moved to erected position and to hold said back and side panels together when said back panel is erected, said head portions being aligned with said eyes only when said back panel is in storage position for disengaging said side panels from said back panel, said side panels when said fingers are disengaged therefrom being foldable over said back panel.

2. A collapsible chair having a seat, a back, and a pair of side panels, said back and said side panels being hinged to said seat, said back and side panels being movable between erected and storage positions, said back panel in storage position being adjacent and generally parallel to said seat and in erected position being generally normal to said seat; an upwardly and rearwardly extending arcuate slot in each of said side panels; means on said back panel extending through said slots and having a head portion wider than said slots and engaging a face of each of said side panels facing away from said back panel; each of said slots having an enlarged portion at its lower forward end through which said head portion of said means may pass normal to said side panels for releasing said back panel from said side panels, said head portions being aligned with said enlarged portions only when said back panel is in storage position; said side panels being released from .3 said back panel only when said back panel is in storage position, permitting said side panels to be folded into storage position.

3. A collapsible chair as described in claim 2 wherein said side panels each have a wedge-shaped flange adjacent said slots, said flanges being engaged by said head portions as said back panel is erected for firmly drawing said back and side panels together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Coonrod Oct. 26, 1897 Thuren Oct. 30, 1934 Billeb Mar. 30, 1943 Bindbeutel May 15, 1956 Foster et al. Mar. 19, 1957 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 8,047,883 August 7, 1962 Auburn G, Van Syoc, Sr, v et a1.

Column 4, line 42, strike out "extending" and insert the same after "rearwardlyfl same line 42; line 47 for "and" read Signed and sealed this 11th day of December 1962.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LADD Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

